Some thinking about design, technology, trees and tea

Tag Archives: Design

Post navigation

I can’t be alone in finding myself in a dull, mundane, corporate stooge job. It’s that kind of job where you realise that your skills, knowledge and training count for nothing. It didn’t start out that way…

It’s 2012, going on 2013, and there are STILL companies running (and even introducing) big dumb firewalls that cut off half the internet to their employees. Like a song with a bizarre filter that cuts out half the band or … Continue reading →

We’ve all seen the dilbert-esque jokes about how a presentation or a logo could be put together in Word by the boss’s 10 year old nephew… but the problem for designers in small or medium sized enterprises is actually far worse.

Apple prides itself on the elegance and simplicity of its designs and user interfaces. Most of its products from the last 15 years have defined both the industries they compete in and the chapters on iconic design in weighty coffee … Continue reading →

Have you ever worked in, visited or generally hung around a bustling design studio? They are wonderful places. Full of activity; full of possibilities; full of people firing ideas off of each other. But look out for an old acquaintance…

Most designers are full of ideas and influences and bursting to try them out on projects large and small. But what projects are actually suitable for these cutting edge creative endeavours? And which projects are simply the perpetual grinding of the machine to produce the most expected of expected designs?

Sometimes you think you’ve seen and heard it all as a designer… but then something or someone comes along and effortlessly surprises you with their shear stupidity, ignorance or just plain idiotic belief systems.

There are a few million words on the systems and productivity benefits (or not) of email, so I won’t try to add to the mountain of both good and bad thinking.
In reality, I reckon most people are handed the keys to an Outlook Exchange Mailbox and left to it… What could possibly go wrong?

Everyone knows communication is important in any business. How information, ideas and opinions are transmitted is where your business is going to live or die. But how do in-house creatives survive the communication problem?

I don’t know about you, but I think some designers have a tendancy to “over-think”. They take a scenario and play out all the possibilities, both on screen and in their head… but look out for over-thinking elsewhere!

The “dark times” are almost gone. The overly complex and deliberately obtuse “flash” websites are making way for the ‘Post-PC’ web and connected device infrastructure. But there are still a few noble craftsmen left out there, designing CD-ROMS …in 2012.